Improvement in packing for oil-well tubes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEO. E. MILLS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN PACKING FOR OIL-WELLTUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,778, VdatedSeptember 5, 1865.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that l, GEORG-E E. MILLS, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packingfor Oil-Wells; and the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionot the same,

reference being had to the accompanyingdraw' ings, making a part of thisspecilication, in which- Figure l represents a vertical section of anoil-well, with the packing or device for cutting off the water-coursesfrom the oil-veins. Fig. 2 shows a section through the apparatus orcut-oft when not in use in the well. Fig. 3 is a top'end view of thedevice, showing the discharge-pipe and gas-tube.

The object of my invention is to save much time and expense in closingthe communication between the water-courses which are above theoil-veins and thev oil, so that the oil may be ejected or pumped outseparately, the apparatus being so constructed and of such sub stance ormaterial that it can be used morethan once in a wellV or in dilferentwells.

My invention consists in making a bag of thin sole-leather in form of atube, it having a bottom iirmly sewed in and a socket to secure it tothedischarge-pipe, and also to a separate small gas-tube. The main body ofthe bagmay be illed with pine shavings, sawdust, or other substancesthat will hold it from being crushed inwardly, above which is securedanother head, leaving a cup of two or three inches (more or less) indepth in the top of the leather tube, so that itwill expand outwardlyagainst the sides of the bore ot' the well by the action ofthe suctionproduced by pumping from below7 or by the pressure ofthe water fromabove, so that it forms a coneshaped valve which eifectually closes thecommunication between the oil-veins and the water-courses, so thatwhatever may be below the apparatus can be ejected or pumped up throughthe discharge-pipe, the gas being allowed to escape freely through thesmall pipe; or it may be conducted to the flue ofthe boilers and used asfuel for generating Steam to work the engines for pumping or otherwiseoperating' the wells.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved packingdevice, l will describe it more fully, referring to the drawings, andtothe letters marked thereon.

In the shaft or boreAofArtesian or oil wells the differentstrataisinterspersed with courses of salt, mineral, and fresh water, all ofwhich are usually above the veins ot' the petroleum and the otheringredients and gases which usually accompany it, so that to attempt towork an ordinary oil-well without some device for separating theoil-veins from the water-courses at least lit'ty barrels of water haveto be pumped out to one of oil. The course has been to till a smallsheep-skin bag with dry tlaxseed, tie it top and bottom around thedischarge-pipe, let it down into the well to some point, and thereremain for forty-eight hours. By that time the seed will get soaked andswell in the bag so as to press against the walls ofthe well and closethe communication. The well is then pumped. It' the seed-bag happens tobe anywhere near the proper place, it is all right; if not, it has to bedemolished and got outthe best way it can and another trial made.

JBy my improved bag or valve B no time is required for it to swell. Themain tubular part O (l is only a base or support for the cup D D, whichexpands and closes the sides of the well by the pressure ot' the waterwhich is above it.

To the lower head or end, d, of my packing or tube C O are leathersockets b c, by which it is secured to the discharge-pipe E and thegaspipc F bywinding a strong cord around. The sole-leatherbagis thenstutt'ed with pine orother wood shavings, sawdust, or other substance.Then the upper head, 7L, is put in and secured to the leather bag andthe discharge-pipe E and gas-pipe Fina similar manner to the lower end,by tying a cord, e, around the sockets l) c, the head li heilig placedin the bag O several inches below the top D D, so that it forms a cup,H, into which the water or other substance from above presses andexpands the leather, forcing it out against the walls of the well K K,so as to close all commu nication between the lower and Lipper portionsofthe well. rEhe suction from below the sole-leather bag, in the processot pumping the well,willeiiectuallyexpand the cup H,so that theleather DD will form a cone-shaped valve, and one which will so conform to thesides ot' the bore of the well that nothing can pass between. Thus analmostiustantaneous cutoff is produced, and may be kept permanent, ifdesired.

Should the valve cuto D D on trial prove not to be in the right place,it can easily be' raised or lowered by the tubing and tried again withthe loss ot' very little time, which is not the case with the ordinaryseed-bags. They being made of thin stretchy leather, can never be takenup in at condition to be used a second time. They often get cut or tornin pntting down, so as to let the seed ont, and are thereby rendereduseless on the first trial.

By making my bag` or tube ot' sole-leather it is not liable to any ofthe above accidents, as it can be filled with pine shavings or othersubstance, and is of sufficient durability for all practical purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what I Witnesses: GEORGE E. MILLS.

J. B. WOODRUFF, S. B. HALL.

